3: …Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.
8: Lead in the right path, O Lord, …Make your way plain for me to follow.
11-12: But let all who take refuge in You be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And may You shelter them,
That those who love Your name may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You surround him with favor as with a shield.
You just cannot throw a bunch of stuff into a pot and make it taste good. The whole idea of restaurants is for someone else to fix good food so we can eat it. I watch cooking shows, and it always amazes me. I have cooked many meals over the course of my life, and I can say that I can cook, but others can cook way better than I can. My wife and all of my daughters are excellent cooks. If I filmed them cooking, it would look like a show on the Food Network. My point is that just because you have all the ingredients to make a good dish, it takes a real cook to put it all together.
Psalm 5 is one of my favorite Psalms. My favorite verse is verse 12. I love the way that David wrote these Psalms because it reminds me of my prayers. Good, bad, ugly, impatient, and dirty, they all seem to be found in this wonderful book.
Verse 3 gives us a view inside David and his patterns. It tells us that he got up each morning and prayed before the Lord. Best of all, it says he will “wait expectantly.” I love this because it reveals something that David had, a knowing of the greatness and kindness of God, and that God will answer our prayers. Not only that, David is waiting expectantly. Let’s all shift our attitude and wait expectantly when we end our prayers.
Verse 8 is a prayer for the Lord to show David the right path to take. He also prays for God to make the way plain for him to follow. God will show you the right path to take, and when He does, He always makes it very plain to see and follow. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us that we must first acknowledge Him in all our ways, lean not on our own understanding, and seek His will in all we do, and then He will show us which path to take. You cannot expect God to show you the right path and make it clear when you are far from His will and leaning into the world and its understanding. First A, then B kind of thing.
Verses 11-12 reveal an aspect of the Lord that gives me comfort and peace. First, it tells us to take refuge in Him, and we should rejoice because of this and sing praises forever. The NLT says, “Spread your protection over them, that all who love your name may be filled with joy.” Finally, my favorite verse, verse 12. I love the fact that I cannot be righteous with all my Christian doings. I can never earn that righteousness. I can never have all my good deeds and attendance at church add up to enough so that I could be considered righteous. No, it is only by the blood of Christ that we are righteous. He covers us with favor like a shield. The NLT says “shield of love.” It is that love that Christ showed us by dying on the cross so that we can be counted as righteous and blameless before Him.
Today, make a mark on your calendar to have a prayer plan each morning. Make a plan to read the Word each day and wait expectantly for the Lord to answer your prayer. After that, ask the Lord to show you the right path to take in all circumstances, and let the peace of God guide you. Finally, let the Lord do what He does best, cover you with His love like a shield, rejoicing and praising Him in all you do.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we come to you each morning, praying and talking to you. I pray that we wait expectantly for your answer. And also, I pray that we understand and feel the love from you wrapping around us like a shield with favor and blessings. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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